Thursday evening at 10,000 feet

Catherine's Pass Trail head starts mid mountain at Alta ski resort. Wildflowers are thick, the air thin... amazingly beautiful!! What a great ride. This is just one of the many trails along the Wasatch Front that most of us don't even know about. Get out and hike!


Yes, that's me. Ever so tiny under the shadow of East Castle at Alta.

The Xterra Mountain Championships...

I do love a race, and SaturdayI had my one and only race of the summer... the Xterra Mountain Championships at Snowbasin. This year I have had little or no training time... just a bit of mountain biking when I could fit it in. I am NOT kidding when I say I was in the pool swimming training laps only ONE time before this race. With my lack of training, I thought it prudent to only enter the "Sport" category, as opposed to the "Championship" distant which I did the last 2 years. WISE MOVE. 750meter swim (instead of 1500), 19k bike (instead of 30), and a 5k run (instead of 10). This race was fun!! I ended up 4th in my age group, but the greatest part was the fact that I finished before the majority of the racers had packed up and gone home!

p.s. the time above is not the correct time...the sport racers started 20 minutes later, so I was firmly sub-3 hours!

Ian is home!!

Well, no pics yet (unless I can steal Ian's memory card), but Ian is home from his adventures in Europe. It's great to have him home! My lawn and basic home fix up projects will be much happier (or, healthier and finished).

Berlin, Paris, London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Prague, etc, etc.....

Driving on the Autobaun, flying out of the Tempelhof Berlin airport (oldest in the WORLD), seeing The Dark Night in his "favorite (classic) theater in the whole world" for $30 in Amsterdam (and "so worth it"--pictures of this art deco 1930's gem to follow), and trekking through the Alps staying in "national park" hostels were incredible highlights.

I love you, Ian! You were missed!

Bry meets Lance Armstrong!!

Click here to see the pic of Bry and Lance

As many of you know, Bry just returned from the Leadville 100, his annual epic, endurance mountain bike race in Leadville, Colorado. Lance Armstrong was there also, finishing a respectable 2nd place, but pushing the 6 time champion to shave 13 minutes of his time. I don't know how well Bry did, he got his pink "Win Susan" Fatcyclist t-shirt signed by the one and only. Susan Nelson is the wife of Elden Nelson, the "fatcyclist," who is currently battling breast cancer (go to fatcyclist.com starting May 1st for an overview). The Fatcyclist blog is one of my favorites, hilariously capturing the quirks of the mountain biking/cycling world and sharing them with the rest of us.

Hopefully you'll see the full Leadville/Lance story on the Christensen's blog... call him if you don't see it soon. Way to go Bry!

I'm just proud of myself that I actually added a "link" to my blog!!! The skills list does just keep growing!

The Wasatch Crest Trail

We certainly live in an incredibly beautiful world! Saturday I enjoyed a ride on a trail I have wanted to do for years, an "epic," in it's stunning views in all directions, the Wasatch Crest. In spots you can see down into valleys on each side. The wildflowers were spectacular. I've really loved being out on the bike this year.

"Stadium of Fire!"

July 4th, 2008
The Stadium of Fire, the crowning glory of Provo's Freedom Festival, was a spectacular event this year. Yes, this WAS a month ago, but I must share. This year it was extra special. For those of you who aren't aquainted with the Stadium of Fire (or SoF), this event includes a stunning fireworks display, and a concert, the guests changing each year. This year is was Millie, or Miley something or other. The artists come and go, but the true staying power of this annual event is none other than the Stadium of Fire Dancers. Yes, it's true... the DANCERS have been there since the beginning. Not being deterred by the fact that I didn't make the height requirements for the Rockettes (see earlier post), I felt like I still had a gift to share. Yes. I was in the SoF this year, as part of the incredibly complex SoF dance number.

I didn't dance (could of, though!). I rode my bike. Here are a few pics for you to enjoy!! In honor of the 2008 Olympics, the number included various summer sports. I rode with the Bike Peddler Velo Club. I'm there on the left. The girls got to be at the back of the pack.

There is also video available, and, though I had a lengthy one-on-one tutorial on how to load a YouTUBE video onto my blog (thanks Garrett!), I couldn't seem to make it happen (go figure!). So.... for all you electronic whizzes out there, go to YouTUBE and search for "velo club stadium of fire," and "stadium of fire dancers (2008)," etc. (there are a few). Watch for me at the end of the first "peloton" of cyclists who cross the field near the north end zone near the end of number. Don't blink. You'll miss us.

15 seconds of glory!

I was also able to watch the concert of that Millie, or Milley girl right out on the field, after our big number. She sang okay. Blue Man Group performed, too. Lots of fun!

Here I am getting ready to go... last minute check of the equipment.
Thank goodness no flats on the quick trip across the field! Yes. My skills ARE limitless!!